Local News in Brief : Supervisors Refuse to Ban Assault Guns
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday refused to ban the sale of semiautomatic assault weapons within unincorporated areas, choosing instead to toss the hot political issue to the Legislature.
At the same time, Los Angeles city officials warned gun owners that the city as of midnight Tuesday will begin enforcing its ban on the possession of Uzis, AK-47s and other rapid-fire arms. Sales of such weapons have been forbidden in the city since Feb. 7.
The Board of Supervisors, on the other hand, voted along ideological lines in refusing to impose a similar ban on such weapons. Liberals Kenneth Hahn and board Chairman Ed Edelman favored the measure. The three conservatives, Mike Antonovich, Deane Dana and Pete Schabarum, were opposed.
But Schabarum later joined Edelman and Hahn in voting to ask the Legislature to include seven weapons in any ban it might ultimately approve.
Representatives of religious organizations who favored the county ban were hissed and booed by opponents during more than an hour of debate.
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